iPhone 4/4S at RadioShack - the price just dropped today. Not sure if it's a sale or how long the price will last. In comparison, Target will have the Virgin Mobile iPhones for $399 and $499 but with a $100 gift card. So.. The deals are comparable but Target is better if you shop there more.

There's a $5 discount per month if you use auto-pay so it becomes $30/40/50 a month instead. I chose the $30/mo plan.

I know people are going to ask if this can be unlocked.. The iPhone 4 does NOT have a SIM card slot, while the 4S does. It's locked to Virgin Mobile so you'll have to figure out how to unlock it but it can be done. Virgin Mobile will not provide the unlock code. Buying this phone requires in-store activation but you don't need to add airtime when you buy it.

They're also running a promo for a $10 off coupon for every $50 you spend, so you should get $80-90 in $10 off coupons. I think you have to use them one at a time but the guy I bought my iPhone from said he'll try and stack them and see if the register will take it.

Thanks to "the7thwitness" on Howard Forums for finding the price drop!

Just a note: I had VM pre-paid service, both for cellular and broadband and I had horrible coverage. This is mainly in Western region and Mid-West (I travel 50% of the time). Cellular connection dropped more often than AT&T and the mobile broadband is slow too.

I am not sure if Sprint put "less priority" on the VM's signal or something, but it's worst than Sprint.

QuasiMatter

Member

posted: Nov. 18, 2012 @ 9:08p

I thought iPhone4 does have a sim card slot. Am I missing something? My AT&T iPhone4 unlock is coming up (2 year over) - could I take it to VirginMobile for the above mentioend rate?

arribasn

Senior Member - 5K

posted: Nov. 18, 2012 @ 9:10p

QuasiMatter said: I thought iPhone4 does have a sim card slot. Am I missing something? My AT&T iPhone4 unlock is coming up (2 year over) - could I take it to VirginMobile for the above mentioend rate?Only Virgin branded phones work on VM, the VM iphone is a "locked" CDMA phone with no SIM slot.

If you have good Sprint coverage where you will need to use the phone VM can't be beat. If you aren't sure if their service is going to work for you, I would suggest trying another device (you can pick up a Virgin Blackbery or Android on CL pretty cheap) first, and if it works, go with the expensive Iphone.

flyingtwopigs

Member

posted: Nov. 18, 2012 @ 11:21p

beachfitrob said: An unlocked GSM iPhone is $73 more if you use Shop Discover and buy it from Apple online. $450-6%=$27 CashBack.

Net $516 for the 4S.

Arguably easier to sell with more network/MVNO choices.

So if I buy this phone from Apple Store, can I use if for VM $30 plan?

Thanks!

iPhone 4S - Unlocked (GSM) - 16GB Black Unlocked

$549.00

I think Discover card also has 5% Cash Back for shopping online through December.

scoutconnor

Thrifty Member

posted: Nov. 19, 2012 @ 1:13a

flyingtwopigs said: beachfitrob said: An unlocked GSM iPhone is $73 more if you use Shop Discover and buy it from Apple online. $450-6%=$27 CashBack.

Net $516 for the 4S.

Arguably easier to sell with more network/MVNO choices.

So if I buy this phone from Apple Store, can I use if for VM $30 plan?

Thanks!

iPhone 4S - Unlocked (GSM) - 16GB Black Unlocked

$549.00

I think Discover card also has 5% Cash Back for shopping online through December.

No.

empty1969

New Member

posted: Nov. 19, 2012 @ 1:14a

Best Buy also showing price drops 449 for the iPhone4s and 349 for the iPhone4. In store only.

scoutconnor said: flyingtwopigs said: beachfitrob said: An unlocked GSM iPhone is $73 more if you use Shop Discover and buy it from Apple online. $450-6%=$27 CashBack.

Net $516 for the 4S.

Arguably easier to sell with more network/MVNO choices.

So if I buy this phone from Apple Store, can I use if for VM $30 plan?

Thanks!

iPhone 4S - Unlocked (GSM) - 16GB Black Unlocked

$549.00

I think Discover card also has 5% Cash Back for shopping online through December.

No.

VM is CDMA only (no GSM)

cestmoi123

Nerdy Member

posted: Nov. 19, 2012 @ 7:58a

spdracer5g said: If you have good Sprint coverage where you will need to use the phone VM can't be beat. If you aren't sure if their service is going to work for you, I would suggest trying another device (you can pick up a Virgin Blackbery or Android on CL pretty cheap) first, and if it works, go with the expensive Iphone.

You need to test with Virgin Mobile (or Boost), though. Sprint branded coverage also uses Verizon's towers, so you might have very good coverage on a Sprint branded contract phone, but very poor coverage on a Virgin Mobile phone.

neal126

Geeky member

posted: Nov. 19, 2012 @ 8:31a

I just picked up a slightly used Verizon Iphone 4 (16GB) on eBay for $200. I plan on pairing it with pageplus's $29 plan for the wife. So the 250MB monthly data limit is not a problem for me since I am always using wifi 90% of the day. And 250MB is more than enough to browse facebook, news and weather. Plus Verizon has excellent coverage, and the 3g quite fast.

My past experience on Virgin Mobile was not very pleasant, the coverage was very off and on, and to call the data slugish would be a understatement. Glad I jumped ship to pageplus. FYI, I live in the NY metro area.

thsze

Ancient Member

posted: Nov. 19, 2012 @ 8:56a

neal126 said: I just picked up a slightly used Verizon Iphone 4 (16GB) on eBay for $200. I plan on pairing it with pageplus's $29 plan for the wife.

For a long time, PagePlus does not allow using iPhone (and Blackberry). Have they relaxed the restriction? Please let me know if you successfully get your iPhone to work on PagePlus. I'm on their $80/2000 min/year plan and don't use data. The tiny screen on my Palm Pixi Plus is challenging to use.

Thanks.

timswim78

Handsome Member

posted: Nov. 19, 2012 @ 8:59a

thsze said: neal126 said: I just picked up a slightly used Verizon Iphone 4 (16GB) on eBay for $200. I plan on pairing it with pageplus's $29 plan for the wife.

For a long time, PagePlus does not allow using iPhone (and Blackberry). Have they relaxed the restriction? Please let me know if you successfully get your iPhone to work on PagePlus. I'm on their $80/2000 min/year plan and don't use data. The tiny screen on my Palm Pixi Plus is challenging to use.

Thanks.

I use an iPhone 4s on PP's "The 12" plan. Works great. No problems to report.http://www.pagepluscellular.com/Plans/12%20Plan.aspx

neal126

Geeky member

posted: Nov. 19, 2012 @ 9:37a

Same here, been using iPhone 4 for over 8 months now, no issues to report. Called and activated it as I did with a driod, no questions asked.

crotch

Dismembered Member

posted: Nov. 19, 2012 @ 9:46a

YMMV - I am about to ditch my 4S on Virgin due to horrible coverage in Southern California and horrible customer service. I live near Pasadena and work in San Bernardino. I have okay coverage at home and work but in between I have very limited coverage. I switched from Verizon in July based on all the hype about the $35/month plan offsetting the cost of the phone. In 4 short months I have been double-charged twice. Calling CS results in hour-long waits to speak with a call center overseas that will happily give you a credit but can't issue refunds. Problem is they don't use the credit unless you specifically pre-pay. Then when you pre-pay they charge for the month anyways and you're back to CS for your "credit."

Well my friends, sometimes you get what you pay for.

sukimeps

Member

posted: Nov. 19, 2012 @ 12:33p

scoutconnor said: flyingtwopigs said: beachfitrob said: An unlocked GSM iPhone is $73 more if you use Shop Discover and buy it from Apple online. $450-6%=$27 CashBack.

Net $516 for the 4S.

Arguably easier to sell with more network/MVNO choices.

So if I buy this phone from Apple Store, can I use if for VM $30 plan?

Thanks!

iPhone 4S - Unlocked (GSM) - 16GB Black Unlocked

$549.00

I think Discover card also has 5% Cash Back for shopping online through December.

No.Plus would this mean that i would get the fw Cash Back plus the discover card 5% offer?

but you could get unlimited minutes and unlimited data (2.5GB soft cap) and unlimited messages

There's a $5 discount per month if you use auto-pay so it becomes $50 a month

SSi

Ancient Member

posted: Nov. 19, 2012 @ 1:42p

Biggest problem with VM? Their 3G network is slow! I am using VM with my Motorola Triumph, and their 3G speed is actually slower than TMo in Los Angeles.

diswes

Senior Member - 1K

posted: Nov. 19, 2012 @ 2:43p

sukimeps said: scoutconnor said: flyingtwopigs said: beachfitrob said: An unlocked GSM iPhone is $73 more if you use Shop Discover and buy it from Apple online. $450-6%=$27 CashBack.

Net $516 for the 4S.

Arguably easier to sell with more network/MVNO choices.

So if I buy this phone from Apple Store, can I use if for VM $30 plan?

Thanks!

iPhone 4S - Unlocked (GSM) - 16GB Black Unlocked

$549.00

I think Discover card also has 5% Cash Back for shopping online through December.

No.Plus would this mean that i would get the fw Cash Back plus the discover card 5% offer?Careful, they may deny you 5% CB...

TrueKnight

Charter Member

posted: Nov. 19, 2012 @ 3:40p

I'm in Southern California area too. I live and work in the Inland Empire (Corona - Chino area). I have the original Optimus V and the 3G speeds suck. I'm reluctant to buy the VM iPhone 4S because I'm not sure if the 4G speed will be any better. I'm almost ready to jump over to Pageplus, if it didn't cost $15/month more for me.

sflv

Member

posted: Nov. 19, 2012 @ 4:00p

Does anyone know if you can setup auto-pay but load your account with top-up cards or have a high enough balance that the card never gets charged and still get the $30 per month plan?

vennams

Member

posted: Nov. 19, 2012 @ 11:21p

fyi: iPhone 4S is not a 4G phone

salwana

Senior Member

posted: Nov. 20, 2012 @ 9:12a

After reading through all the comments so far... you get what you pay for. If you haven't experienced Virgin Mobile, I suggest trying Straight Talk instead. I'm seeing more positive reviews for Straight Talk.

nutzareus

New Member

posted: Nov. 20, 2012 @ 1:47p

sflv said: Does anyone know if you can setup auto-pay but load your account with top-up cards or have a high enough balance that the card never gets charged and still get the $30 per month plan?

Yes, I registered a credit card and just bought the $30 refill cards. Just make sure you do it a few days before your month ends so you don't get whacked on your credit card.

GrnTurtle

Addicted Member

posted: Nov. 20, 2012 @ 3:24p

I have an iPhone 5 with Cricket Wireless in San Diego, and I believe they use Sprint's network since iPhones use PCS CDMA and not AWS. I pay less than $30/mo with a friends & family discount for unlimited talk/text and 2.5GB soft cap of data. Speedtest app shows 3G down speed of 2.24Mbps, up speed of .94 Mbps.

dpid

Ancient Member

posted: Nov. 20, 2012 @ 3:50p

salwana said: After reading through all the comments so far... you get what you pay for. If you haven't experienced Virgin Mobile, I suggest trying Straight Talk instead. I'm seeing more positive reviews for Straight Talk.

I love ST. I switched from VM about 6 months ago and don't regret it at all. I had the LG Optimus V with VM, and data speeds were SLOW! And I had to buy additional $10 airtime card every other month for my $25 plan (at that time) since 300 minutes weren't enough. Plus the phone was cheap and underpowered. So I bought a 4S off Newegg and switched to STand find the $45 plan perfect (and its nice not to have limits on minutes)

The only thing I've had problems with, and is non-issue most of time, is that the Uber app doesn't work with ST. It works on wifi, but not on cellular network. Uber said its something to do with getting secure certificate working with ST.

dcg9381

Senior Member - 2K

posted: Nov. 20, 2012 @ 7:02p

Can anyone confirm that the coupons stack at Radio Shack? Any links to coupons.

If you want an iphone and mainly use voice and are ok with 3g data, it's probably the best deal going. I switched to Virgin Mobile after Sprint was trying to drive me toward a "smart phone" plan that would have run over $120/mo.

very nice deal for those who want a "new" iphone (like my wife). i'm very happy. who says gifts can't save $$? (after prepaid top up cards for 25% off and their $30 plan, plus a $15 hotspot option to cover mobile wireless for ipads, touches, kindle fires in the family-- should be looking at $50/mo savings).

forgot to add $1 in filler... but i had crazy kids w/ me and the activation/checkout took a pretty long time. $80 in rs coupons expire in one month and will be a challenge to use, anyway-- technically supposed to use 1 at a time, so could be a real pain.

thanks op!

dcg9381

Senior Member - 2K

posted: Dec. 7, 2012 @ 11:43a

glocks said: very nice deal for those who want a "new" iphone (like my wife). i'm very happy. who says gifts can't save $$? (after prepaid top up cards for 25% off and their $30 plan, plus a $15 hotspot option to cover mobile wireless for ipads, touches, kindle fires in the family-- should be looking at $50/mo savings).

Be careful here. I thought the same thing - I'll just buy a Iphone 4s for the wife via TopUp cards, after all, Virgin Mobile's website says that you can do this.Two problems:1) You can only load $150/day in TopUp cards.2) You cannot have an account balance of over $400. This isn't enough to buy the Iphone4s and there is no option for using a combination of credit card and account balance.

Essentially you cannot buy an Iphone 4s with Top Up cards, despite documentation to the contrary.

There are two ways around - but they are very YMMV:1) Get VM to drop the cost of the phone to $400. 2) Get VM to give you a $49 account credit. This is the only way your account balance can go over $400.

Apparently VM CSRs cannot work around the $400 limit.

glocks

Member

posted: Dec. 8, 2012 @ 5:42a

didn't consider purchasing the iphone w/ top up. just discussing monthly plan costs. it's been a good deal for us, so far...

Skipping 6 Messages...

HKSturboKid

Broke Member

posted: Jan. 2, 2013 @ 11:41p

Leo said: $350 for the 4 and $450 for the 4s. How do you buy with top up cards? That doesnt seem to be a payment option. Wife has a motorola triumph. Was thinking of switching to the 8gb iphone 4. too bad no iphone on tmobile's monthly4g. I have a samsung focus flash on that and I'm pretty happy with the speed. Just no apps for microsoft

For the topup, in order to get the extra $5 discount, you have to do it in VirginMobileUSA.com site where you can setup credit card for auto payment for the $30 ($35 - $5 discount) Plan.

If you want to pay the $35 monthly, you can get them at WalMart, bestbuy, RadioShack, target or online such as callingmart, etc..

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